Pareto sampling using simplicial refinement by derivative pursuit

ABSTRACT

A method of optimizing a plurality of objectives includes the steps of initializing a set of simplices; selecting a simplex from the set of simplices; computing one or more weights based at least in part on the selected simplex; and generating a point on a tradeoff surface by utilizing the one or more weights in a weighted-sum optimization.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed generally toward optimizing multipleobjectives, including but not limited to those which occur in integratedcircuit design.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many design problems amount to an exercise in balancing multipleobjectives, or what is known as a multi-objective optimization problem.For example, it is often desirable to simultaneously minimize each of aplurality of objectives, while satisfying various constraint functions.Moreover, there are often conflicts between the different objectivessuch that minimizing one causes another to increase in value, therebyresulting in tradeoffs between objectives. Having a design methodologythat can explore tradeoffs would significantly aid fast designconvergence at any abstraction level, so as to arrive at a design pointthat truly is the “sweet spot.”

For example, in the field of VLSI (very large scale integration)integrated circuit design, at the highest abstraction level ofimplementing a full chip, there is typically a tight and difficult toestimate tradeoff between power and speed. If the speed of an SRAMbitcell is increased, for example, more leakage power is typicallyconsumed as a tradeoff. There are often several constraints on thisdesign problem; e.g., technology capability, market forces, the designmethodology, chip area, the system around the chip and design schedule.Many of these constraints could, themselves, be objectives: ideally adesigner would also like to analyze the power-performance tradeoffs withchip area, the design schedule and technology costs.

Typically, designers would like to explore the tradeoff between theobjectives to pick the solution that best fits their designrequirements. One reason for this is that the design goals are not fullydetermined and an exploration of the tradeoffs is necessary to determinedesign capability, which in turn may be used to guide the design goals.This is often the case for SRAM bitcell design, since the bitcell isoften designed during the early phases of technology development. Atthis time, the technology, the models and the design specificationscoming from the array design are all in flux, and it is very difficultto have all requirements fixed. Knowledge of the full tradeoff betweenthe objectives lets the designer choose a design that meets currentrequirements and is flexible to adapt at low cost as needs change.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An illustrative embodiment of the present invention includes a method ofoptimizing a plurality of objectives includes the steps of initializinga set of simplices; selecting a simplex from the set of simplices;computing one or more weights based at least in part on the selectedsimplex; and generating a point on a tradeoff surface by utilizing theone or more weights in a weighted-sum optimization.

Another illustrative embodiment of the present invention includes amethod for designing an integrated circuit. The method includes a stepof optimizing a plurality of design objectives. This optimizing stepincludes the steps of initializing a set of simplices, selecting asimplex from the set of simplices, computing one or more weights basedat least in part on the selected simplex, and generating a point on atradeoff surface by utilizing the one or more weights in a weighted-sumoptimization. The method also includes a step of designing theintegrated circuit based at least in part on the optimized plurality ofdesign objectives.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows an exemplary two-dimensional tradeoff surface.

FIG. 1B shows an exemplary three-dimensional tradeoff surface includingindividual minima for three objectives.

FIG. 1C shows an exemplary two-dimensional tradeoff surface includingindividual minima for two objectives and utopia and nadir points.

FIG. 2A shows a solution for an optimization problem prior to rotation.

FIG. 2B shows a solution for an optimization problem subsequent torotation.

FIG. 3A shows 11 Pareto samples for a two-dimensional tradeoff surfaceaccording to a uniform sweep.

FIG. 3B shows 11 Pareto samples for a two-dimensional tradeoff surfaceaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A shows 101 Pareto samples for a two-dimensional tradeoff surfaceaccording to a uniform sweep.

FIG. 4B shows 101 Pareto samples for a two-dimensional tradeoff surfaceaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a distribution of 1001 Pareto sampling weights for atwo-dimensional tradeoff surface according to an illustrative embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a simplistic approximation according to an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary technique according toan illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows computation of a volume of a simplex according to anillustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows selection of target derivatives according to anillustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10A shows 11 Pareto samples for a tradeoff surface associated withan SRAM design problem according to a uniform sweep.

FIG. 10B shows 11 Pareto samples for a tradeoff surface associated withan SRAM design problem according to an illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11A shows 66 Pareto samples for a three-dimensional tradeoffsurface according to a uniform sweep.

FIG. 11B shows 66 Pareto samples for a three-dimensional tradeoffsurface according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12A shows a distribution of 66 Pareto sampling weights for athree-dimensional tradeoff surface according to a uniform sweep.

FIG. 12B shows a distribution of 66 Pareto sampling weights for athree-dimensional tradeoff surface according to an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows a computer system that may be useful in implementing oneor more aspects and/or elements of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A typical multi-objective optimization problem may be expressed asfollows:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\min\limits_{x}{f(x)}} = \left\lbrack {{f_{1}(x)}\mspace{14mu}{f_{2}(x)}\mspace{14mu}\ldots\mspace{14mu}{f_{d}(x)}} \right\rbrack^{T}}{{{s.t.\mspace{14mu}{g(x)}} \leq 0},{{h(x)} = 0},{x \in X},}} & (1)\end{matrix}$where X is the domain of search and T denotes a transpose operation. Agoal is to simultaneously minimize each of the d objectives, therebyminimizing objective function f(x), while satisfying the vectors ofconstraint functions g(x) and h(x). Let F be the space of objectivevalues {ƒ_(i)}. Then any set of objective values f={ƒ₁, ƒ₂, . . . ,ƒ_(d)} is a vector in this space. Let F be the feasible region definedasF={f(x):g(x)≦0,h(x)=0,xεX}.  (2)

FIG. 1A shows an exemplary two-dimensional tradeoff surface. The Paretofront (or the tradeoff surface) ∂F is defined as the set ofPareto-optimal points in F. A point f is Pareto-optimal if and only ifthere is no f′εF, such thatƒ′_(i)≦ƒ_(i) ,∀iε{1, . . . , d} and ∃jε{1, . . . , d}:ƒ′_(j)<ƒ_(j);  (3)that is, there is no other point in F that has a smaller or equal valuefor all objectives than f. Although the illustrative embodimentsdescribed herein assume that F is closed and simply connected, F can beof any form.

FIG. 1B shows an exemplary three-dimensional tradeoff surface. f_(i)^(I) denotes the individual minimum for objective ƒ_(i) and can begenerated by minimizing only ƒ_(i) while ignoring all other objectives,or equivalently, by choosing α_(i)=1 and α_(j≠i)=0. In FIG. 1B,individual minima for three objectives, ƒ₁, ƒ₂, and ƒ₃, are shown as f₁^(I), f₂ ^(I) and f₃ ^(I), respectively. U is a utopia point and willdiscussed further with reference to FIG. 1C.

FIG. 1C shows the exemplary two-dimensional tradeoff surface from FIG.1A. However, in FIG. 1C, individual minima for two objectives, ƒ₁ andƒ₂, are shown as f₁ ^(I) and f₂ ^(I), respectively. Also, the utopiapoint, f^(U), and the nadir point, f^(N) are shown in FIG. 1C. These aredefined asf ^(U)={ƒ₁₁ ^(I), . . . , ƒ_(dd) ^(I)},f ^(N)={max(ƒ₁₁ ^(I),ƒ₂₁ ^(I), . . . , ƒ_(d1) ^(I)), . . . , max(ƒ_(1d)^(I), . . . , ƒ_(dd) ^(I))},  (4)where ƒ_(ij) ^(I) is the j-th component of f_(i) ^(I).

There are several techniques for solving optimization problems such as(1). For example, various methods, such as the Normal-BoundaryIntersection method and the Normal Constraint method, use a sequence ofsingle-objective optimization runs to sample the tradeoff surface, anduse some additional constraints to guide each run at a desired locationon the surface. However, the additional constraints required by thesetechniques can make the optimization problem more difficult, resultingin convergence to local minima or longer run times for each optimizationrun.

As another example, an evolutionary algorithm could be used withsolution fitness defined by its non-domination by other solutions.Examples of such techniques include encoding the notion of Paretooptimality into a gene goodness function, the non-denominated sortinggenetic algorithm (NSGA) method, or the strength Pareto evolutionaryalgorithm (SPEA) method. However, these evolutionary algorithms tend tohave very high computational costs associated therewith because of thelack of a strong search direction and the need for maintaining largepopulations. Often, several thousand candidates need to be tried beforesolutions converge.

Another approach to solving (1) above is to optimize convex-weightedsums of the objectives. To do this, the multi-objective optimizationproblem is converted into a single objective problem by placingacceptable thresholds on all but one objective, thereby converting theseobjectives into constraints. The new weighted objective is defined as:

$\begin{matrix}{{f_{1}^{\alpha} = {{w^{T}f} = {{\alpha_{1}f_{1}} + {\alpha_{2}f_{2}} + \ldots + {\left( {1 - {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{d - 1}\alpha_{i}}} \right)f_{d}}}}},} & (5) \\{{0 \leq \alpha_{i} \leq {1\mspace{14mu}{for}\mspace{14mu}{all}\mspace{14mu} i}},{{{and}\mspace{14mu}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{d - 1}\alpha_{i}}}<=1.}} & (6)\end{matrix}$w is a strictly non-negative, non-trivial vector, and α={α₁, . . . ,α_(d−1)} is the vector of weights. The optimization problem can now bewritten as:

$\begin{matrix}{{\min\limits_{x}f_{1}^{\alpha}},{{s.t.\mspace{14mu}{g(x)}} \leq 0},{{h(x)} = 0},{x \in X},} & (7)\end{matrix}$The weights α_(i) allow us to relatively prioritize the objectives forthe optimization. For example, if α₁=α₂=0.5 and all other α_(i)=0, theoptimization will only try to minimize the objectives ƒ₁ and ƒ₂ andignore the others.

One method of sampling the Pareto surface ∂F uniformly is to sweep theweights uniformly while satisfying (6), and run a single objectiveoptimization for each resulting combination of weights. For a givensweep stepsize, dα, the combinations can be generated as:

$\begin{matrix}{{\alpha_{1} = {0\text{:}d\;\alpha\text{:}1}}\alpha_{2} = {{0\text{:}d\;\alpha\text{:}\left( {1 - \alpha_{1}} \right)\mspace{14mu}\ldots\mspace{14mu}\alpha_{i}} = {{0\text{:}d\;\alpha\text{:}\left( {1 - {\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{i - 1}\alpha_{j}}} \right)\mspace{14mu}{for}\mspace{14mu} i} < {d\mspace{14mu}\ldots}}}} & (8)\end{matrix}$

The question of where a particular choice of weights put us on ∂F can beanswered by deriving a direct relationship between the weights α and thepartial derivatives of the Pareto front ∂F. In the illustrativeembodiments described herein, it is assumed that the origin has beentranslated to the utopia point f^(U) shown in FIG. 1B. Although thistranslation helps avoid unnecessary notational clutter, it does notaffect the results and is not necessary.

Any solution to the problem (7) should satisfy the following theorem:

Let ∂F be continuously differentiable, and let f^(α)* be the globalsolution to the problem (7). Then

-   -   1. f^(α)* lies on ∂F,    -   2. the vector w is normal to ∂F at f^(α)*, and    -   3. the tangent plane at f^(α)* does not intersect ∂F elsewhere        where it is not tangent to ∂F.

The proof of this theorem is as follows: f is a vector in F and ƒ₁^(α)=w^(T)f is the projection of f on the direction vector w defined bythe choice of weights α={α₁, . . . , α_(d−1)}. Hence, (7) minimizes thisprojection.

To express this idea in a more convenient way, the axes in this systemcan be rotated such that the rotated ƒ₁ axis is aligned with the vectorw, and in the same direction. FIG. 2A shows a system prior to rotationand FIG. 2B shows a system subsequent to rotation. The rotated versionof any ƒ_(i) can then be denoted by ƒ_(i) ^(θ), where the vector θ={θ₁,. . . , θ_(d−1)} denotes the sequence of angles by which the system wasrotated.

Now, any solution f^(α)*, such as that shown in FIG. 2B, that minimizesƒ₁ ^(α) as per (7) essentially minimizes the value of the coordinate ƒ₁^(θ) in the rotated system, while satisfying the constraints of (7). Theother rotated coordinates can take up any value as necessary to minimizeƒ₁ ^(θ) while satisfying the constraints.

The feasible region F, and hence the Pareto surface ∂F, lies in thepositive orthant of the original coordinate system, and so does w as per(6). Consequently, in the rotated system, ∂F and the feasible regionlies in the positive half plane defined by ƒ_(i) ^(θ)>0. If ƒ_(i) ^(θ)is minimized while staying feasible, the solution point must then lie on∂F. This is because for any point f^(θ)={ƒ₁ ^(θ), . . . , ƒ_(d) ^(θ)} inF, that is not in ∂F, one can find a neighboring point f^(θ)−{δƒ, 0, . .. , 0} that is feasible and has a smaller value for the ƒ_(i) ^(θ)coordinate, until we reach ∂F. This proves claim 1 of the theorem.

Given this, for (7) one can equivalently search only on the ∂F manifoldand drop all constraints in (7), since the solution for any choice of αas per (6) will lie on it. The resulting formulation is

$\begin{matrix}{\min\limits_{{\{{f_{1}^{\theta},f_{2}^{\theta},\mspace{14mu}\ldots\mspace{14mu},f_{d}^{\theta}}\}} \in {\partial F}}f_{1}^{\theta}} & (9)\end{matrix}$f^(α)* is a solution of (7) for some α and can be written in the rotatedsystem as f^(θ)*={ƒ₁ ^(θ)*, . . . , ƒ_(d) ^(θ)*}, which is also asolution of (9) and minimizes ƒ₁ ^(θ) to the value ƒ₁ ^(θ)* Since f^(θ)*lies on ∂F and ∂F is continuously differentiable, ∂F can be written inthe neighborhood of f^(θ)* in the following explicit analytical form:ƒ₁ ^(θ) =h(ƒ₂ ^(θ), . . . , ƒ_(d) ^(θ)).  (10)An example of h( ) is a Taylor expansion of ƒ₁ ^(θ) restricted to ∂F, interms of {ƒ₂ ^(θ), . . . , ƒ_(d) ^(θ)} around ƒ₁ ^(θ)*. In thisneighborhood, (9) can be simplified to the following unconstrained form:

$\begin{matrix}{{\min\limits_{\{{f_{2}^{\theta},\ldots,f_{d}^{\theta}}\}}f_{1}^{\theta}} = {h\left( {f_{2}^{\theta},\ldots\mspace{14mu},f_{d}^{\theta}} \right)}} & (11)\end{matrix}$From the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) necessary condition, the partialderivatives of ƒ₁ ^(θ) at the solution ƒ₁ ^(θ)* must be zero:∇ƒ₁ ^(θ)(f ^(θ)*)=0.  (12)Also, the plane tangent to ∂F at ƒ₁ ^(θ)* is given byP:[−1∇ƒ₁ ^(θ)(f ^(θ)*)^(T) ]f ^(θ)=[−1∇ƒ₁ ^(θ)(f ^(θ)*)^(T) ]f^(θ)*.  (13)Using (12) in 3 this plane can be written asP:ƒ ₁ ^(θ)=ƒ₁ ^(θ)*,  (14)which is also normal to the ƒ₁ ^(θ) axis, and hence, normal to the wvector in the original coordinate system. This proves part 2 of thetheorem.

Now, assume that this tangent plane, which is tangent at the globaloptimum of (7), intersects ∂F at some other point ƒ^(θ)′ where it is nottangent to ∂F. Then, in the neighborhood of ƒ^(θ)′ one can assume anexplicit form of ∂F similar to (10), and write the optimization problemas (11). The plane P has all partial derivatives equal to zero, as per(14) and if it is not tangent to ∂F at ƒ^(θ)′, then∇ƒ₁ ^(θ)(f ^(θ)′)≠0.  (15)This violates the KKT necessary condition at f^(θ)′, and it follows thatthere is a better solution possible. Since, f^(θ)′ lies on the plane P:ƒ₁ ^(θ)=ƒ₁ ^(θ)*, this better solution will have a smaller value of ƒ₁^(θ). Hence, there is a contradiction with the prior assumption thatf^(θ)* is the global optimum. This proves part 3.

This theorem can then be used to derive a relation between theoptimization weights {α₁, . . . , α_(d−1)} and the derivatives of ∂P.This will indicate exactly where on ∂F the optimization (7) lands.

Corollary Let ∂F be continuously differentiable and let f₁ ^(α)* be asolution to problem (7). Then

$\begin{matrix}{{{\frac{\partial f_{d}}{\partial f_{i}}\left( f^{\alpha*} \right)} = {- \frac{\alpha_{i}}{1 - {\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{d - 1}\alpha_{j}}}}},{1 \leq i < {d.}}} & (16)\end{matrix}$This corollary can be proved as follows: the theorem states that thevector

$w = \left\{ {\alpha_{1},\ldots\mspace{14mu},\alpha_{d - 1},{1 - \sum\limits_{j = 1}^{d - 1}}} \right\}$is normal to ∂F at the solution point f^(α)*. ∂F can be written at anypoint that lies on it, in the explicit formƒ_(d) =h _(d)(ƒ₁, . . . , ƒ_(d−1)).  (17)Then the inward pointing normal vector to ∂F at that point is

$\begin{matrix}{{n = \left\lbrack {{{- \frac{\partial f_{d}}{\partial f_{1}}}\mspace{14mu}\ldots}\mspace{14mu} - {\frac{\partial f_{d}}{\partial f_{d - 1}}1}} \right\rbrack^{T}},} & (18)\end{matrix}$which is parallel to w at f^(α)*. If w is normalized to match its d-thcoordinate to the d-th coordinate value of n (i.e., 1), the result is(16).

These observations explain the problem with the standard approach ofuniformly sweeping the weights α_(i) in (7). The choice of the vector αrelates to the partial derivatives of the Pareto front ∂F and not theposition on ∂F. Hence, a uniform spread in the weights will ensure somesystematic choice of the partial derivatives that are sampled on ∂F, butthe resulting points on ∂F will depend completely on the distribution ofthese derivatives across it. Consequently, the spread of the points canvary dramatically from one form of ∂F to another and no spatialuniformity is guaranteed.

FIG. 3A shows the points generated for the following two objective, fivevariable case, by sweeping α₁ from 0 to 1 in steps of 0.1, therebyobtaining 11 data points.

$\begin{matrix}{{{\min\limits_{\{{x_{1},\mspace{14mu}\ldots\mspace{14mu},x_{5}}\}}f_{1}} = {x}^{2}},\mspace{14mu}{f_{2} = {{3x_{1}} + {2x_{2}} - \frac{x_{3}}{3} + \frac{\left( {x_{4} - x_{5}} \right)^{3}}{100}}},{s.t.\mspace{14mu}\left\{ \begin{matrix}{{{x}^{2} - 10} \leq 0} \\{{x_{1} + {2x_{2}} - x_{3} - {0.5x_{4}} + x_{5} - 2} = 0} \\{{{4x_{1}} - {2x_{2}} + {0.8x_{3}} + {0.6x_{4}} + {0.5x_{5}^{2}}} = 0}\end{matrix} \right.}} & (19)\end{matrix}$As can be seen in FIG. 3A, the use of uniform weights does not guaranteea uniform distribution of samples on the tradeoff surface.

An illustrative embodiment of the present invention allows one to samplethe weights with the goal of generating uniformly distributed points on∂F irrespective of the distribution of its partial derivatives andwithout enforcing additional constraints on the original optimizationproblem. Rather, the weights are generated adaptively by exploiting therelationship between the objective weights and the partial derivativesof the tradeoff surface. In a sense, this illustrative embodimentperforms a Monte Carlo analysis on ∂F following a uniform distributiondefined over ∂F.

FIG. 3B shows results for (19) using 11 iterations of an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. The improved uniformity, with thesame number of points, can clearly be seen. Generally, it is preferableto apply the exemplary techniques described herein to convex regions ofthe tradeoff region.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are similar to FIGS. 3A and 3B, respectively, exceptwith 101 data points rather than 11 data points. The difference is more,rather than less, pronounced with greater numbers of data points.

FIG. 5 shows the distribution of α values generated using 1001iterations of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention toobtain a uniform sampling of (19). It is clearly very different from auniform distribution of α. This clearly illustrates the difficulty withusing uniform weights: different forms of ∂F can require completelydifferent distributions of the weights.

FIG. 6 shows a simplistic approximation of ∂F according to an embodimentof the present invention. An illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention uses known partial derivative information to guide thegeneration of weights for subsequent sampling of ∂F. The partialderivatives at already sampled points are known from (16), and areindexed using a simplistic approximation of ∂F: a set of abutting(d−1)-simplices. A (d−1)-simplex is a (d−1)-dimensional polytope thathas d vertices; e.g., a triangle in two dimensions and a tetrahedron inthree dimensions. FIG. 6 shows the case where d=3.

Such an approximation of a convex surface falls under the general classof polyhedral approximations, as described in R. V. Efremov et al,“Properties of a Method for Polyhedral Approximation of the FeasibleCriterion Set in Convex Multiobjective Problems,” Ann. Open. Res., 166,2009, incorporated by reference herein. Each vertex is a point on ∂Fthat has been generated using some α in (7), and thus all simplexvertices lie on ∂F. In an illustrative embodiment, this model of ∂F isused to define the next desired sample and the corresponding values ofα. New points can then be added incrementally. Because the partialderivatives of a solution point for any given set of weights are known,these known partial derivatives can be used to compute the next set ofweights.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an exemplary technique for derivativepursuit (DP) according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention. First, a set of simplices Z is initialized with a singlesimplex approximation in steps 710 and 720. Next, samples on the Paretofront are iteratively generated such that they are uniformly spread outon the front, irrespective of the local gradient behavior. Thisiterative generation includes three main steps (730, 740, 750 and 760)in each iteration.

In step 710, individual minima {f_(i) ^(I)}_(i=1) ^(d) are generated byminimizing one objective at a time and ignoring the others. Once {f_(i)^(I)}_(i=1) ^(d) are generated, the objective functions are normalizedto [0,1] in step 720, such that the utopia point is now the origin andthe nadir point is at the far corner of the unit cube. This may involvethe use of the transformation:

$\begin{matrix}{\left. {f_{i}(x)}\leftarrow\frac{{f_{i}(x)} - f_{i}^{U}}{f_{i}^{N} - f_{i}^{U}} \right.,{i \in {\left\{ {1,\ldots\mspace{14mu},d} \right\}.}}} & (20)\end{matrix}$The single simplex formed by connecting the individual minima togetherthen lies within this unit cube, with the vertices lying on the boundaryof the unit cube.

In step 730, one simplex S is selected from Z. Preferably, simplex S isselected from Z in a manner which favors sparsely sampled regions of thePareto front over densely sampled regions. For example, one could usethe volume of each simplex as a measure of the sparsity of its vertices.Then, the distribution of simplex volumes is used to guide the choice ofsimplex for the next iteration.

In one embodiment, a deterministic method could be utilized in which thelargest simplex is picked. Alternatively or additionally, aprobabilistic method could be used in which each member of Z is assigneda probability that is proportional to its (d−1)-dimensional volume(surface area of triangle for d=3), S is then picked randomly from thecategorical probability distribution assigned to Z. Such a techniquewould tend to pick larger simplices which correspond to sparsely sampledregions of the Pareto front.

An embodiment may include the computation of the volume of anynewly-created simplices that are created, as shown in FIG. 8. The volumeof any (d−1)-dimensional simplex S with d vertices (y₁, . . . , y_(d),where y_(i)={γ_(i1), . . . , γ_(i(d−1)) }) is given by

$\begin{matrix}{{{Vol}(S)} = {\frac{{\left( {y_{2} - y_{1}} \right)\mspace{14mu}\ldots\mspace{14mu}\left( {y_{d} - y_{1}} \right)}}{\left( {d - 1} \right)!}.}} & (21)\end{matrix}$Note that y_(i) are (d−1)-dimensional vectors, whereas simplex S isdefined using d-dimensional vectors f_(ν), νεV(S). Thus, to use (22) itis necessary to define S in a (d−1)-dimensional coordinate system.

To perform this definition, one must first find a (d−1)-dimensionalorthonormal basis for the hyperplane in which S lies with the origin atone vertex of S. Then one can represent all vertices using this(d−1)-dimensional basis. Let {f₁, . . . , f_(d)} be the set of verticesV(S) represented in the d-dimensional space F. The simplex is translatedsuch that f₁ is at the origin and the vertices are then given by{0,(f ₂ −f ₁), . . . ,(f _(d) −f ₁)}  (22)The following matrix can then be definedΔF=[(f ₂ −f ₁) . . . (f _(d) −f ₁)]  (23)The columns of this matrix form a basis for the hyperplane containing S.The thin QR decomposition of this d×(d−1) matrix gives us an orthonormalbasis for this hyperplane:ΔF=QR,  (24)where the columns of Q form the orthonormal basis. Q can be computedusing Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization. Thin QR decomposition andGram-Schmidt orthonormalization are both described in G. H. Golub and C.F. Van Loan, “Matrix Computations,” JHU Press, 3 ed., 1996, incorporatedby reference herein. Next, the simplex vertices (22) are projected ontothis basis set to obtain a (d−1)-dimensional representation of S:Y=Q ^(T)[0ΔF]=[0Q ^(T) ΔF],  (25)where the i-th column of Y is the i-th vertex of S in the(d−1)-dimensional space defined by ΔF and, equivalently Q. Plugging thisinto (21), one derives

$\begin{matrix}{{{Vol}(S)} = {\frac{{Q^{T}\Delta\; F}}{\left( {d - 1} \right)!}.}} & (26)\end{matrix}$

In step 740, an appropriate set of weights α is selected to run a newoptimization. This new set of weights is selected as a function of thecorners of the selected simplex. Ideally, α is selected such that theresulting solution is centrally positioned on ∂F with respect to thevertices of the simplex, so as to maximize the uniformity of the pointson ∂F. Because we do not have a direct relation between the objectivevalues of any Pareto point and the weights, we use a heuristic byexploiting the relationship between the partial derivatives of ∂F andthe weights. For simplicity, any partial derivative

$\frac{\partial f_{d}}{\partial f_{i}}$will be notated herein as simply ∂_(i). Let F⁻ be the (d−1)-dimensionalspace defined by {ƒ₁, . . . , ƒ_(d−1)} and let any vector in this spacebe denoted with a − superscript, as f⁻.

As shown in FIG. 8, S⁻ is the projection of S onto F⁻. S⁻ is also a(d−1)-simplex. Every partial derivative ∂_(i) can be modeled, for i={1,. . . , d−1}, as a linear function of f⁻={ƒ₁, . . . , ƒ_(d−1)}:s=[∂ ₁ . . . ∂_(d−1)]^(T) =Af ⁻ +b,s.t.Af _(ν) ⁻ +b=s _(ν) ,∀νεV(S),  (27)where V(S) is the set of the vertices of S, A and b are the matrix andvector defining the linear functions, f_(ν) ⁻ is some vertex of S⁻ ands_(ν) is the vector s at that vertex. Note that, since vertex ν wasgenerated using some known α in (7), the vector s_(ν) can be derivedusing (16). Equation (27) says that the linear functions are simplyinterpolations from the vertices of the simplex S. The new desired pointon ∂F is the projection of the centroid of S⁻on to ∂F. This desiredpoint would have the desirable property of being equidistant from allsimplex vertices at least in F⁻.

In one technique, referred to herein as the centroid method, the weightsare computed based on the centroid of partial derivatives of thecorners. Let f_(c) ⁻ denote the centroid of S⁻. Using the model of (28),the partial derivatives of ∂F at this desired point are estimated as

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{s_{c} = {{Af}_{c}^{-} + b}} \\{= {{A\left( {\frac{1}{d}{\sum\limits_{v \in {V{(S)}}}f_{v}^{-}}} \right)} + b}} \\{{= {{\frac{1}{d}{\sum\limits_{v \in {V{(S)}}}\left( {{Af}_{v}^{-} + b} \right)}} = {\frac{1}{d}{\sum\limits_{v \in {V{(S)}}}s_{v}}}}},}\end{matrix} & (28)\end{matrix}$which is the just the centroid of the simplex defined by V(S) in the sspace. From this set of partial derivatives, a set of optimizationweights is computed by manipulating (16) and (28):

$\begin{matrix}{{\alpha_{c} = {{- \frac{s_{c}}{1 - \sigma_{s_{c}}}} = {- \frac{\frac{1}{d}{\sum\limits_{v \in {V{(S)}}}s_{v}}}{1 - {\frac{1}{d}{\sum\limits_{v \in {V{(S)}}}\sigma_{s_{v}}}}}}}},{{{where}\mspace{14mu}\sigma_{s}} = {\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{d - 1}s_{j}}}} & (29)\end{matrix}$This set of weights can then be used to drive the next optimization run.Note that if the parial derivative model (27) is accurate, theoptimization will land on the desired point on ∂F. In the general case,this model serves as an approximate guide, by trying to exploitcurrently available information about ∂F.

Alternatively or in addition, one could compute the gradients of theplane passing through the simplex corners then compute the weights fromthese gradients using (16). That is, the linear model can be discardedand instead one could simply use the centroid (mean) of the α_(ν)vectors, for all νεV(S). It is important to note that the term

${\frac{\partial f_{d}}{\partial f_{i}}\left( f^{\alpha*} \right)},$found on the left-hand side of (16), could be equivalent to either thecentroid of the partial derivatives of the corners of the simplex or thegradients of the plane passing through the corners of the simplex.

For example, there are certain regions where the linear model does notfit. These are near the edges and corners of ∂F, where one or morepartial derivatives rapidly go to −∞. This happens whenever any of theoptimization objectives in (7) has a weight very close to 0. To see thismathematically, consider the case where ƒ_(d) has a weight of 0; i.e.,

${\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{d - 1}\alpha_{i}} = 1.$This would happen, for instance when one optimizes for the i-thindividual minimum f_(i) ^(I) by setting α_(i)=1. If the simplex S has avertex ν with such a choice of α, one will obtain s_(ν)={−∞, . . . ,−∞}. The partial derivatives across this simplex could not then beinterpolated using a linear model. The linear interpolation model (planemethod) of α_(ν) can be used in terms of f⁻ across such simplices.

Thus, a hybrid method could be utilized in which the plane method isused when simplex plane gradients are all negative, otherwise thecentroid method is used. Of course, any combination of the plane methodand/or centroid method, or other methods, may be utilized in conjunctionwith illustrative embodiments of the present invention.

In step 750, a new solution f^(α)* is computed in the manner discussedabove with reference to FIG. 2B. In step 760, S is replaced with d newsimplices. These new simplices are each defined by replacing a vertex inV(S), the set of vertices in S, with a vertex at the new solutionf^(α)*:Z=Z−S+{simplex[(V(S)\ν)∪vertex(f ^(α)*)]:∀νεV(S)}  (30)The process then repeats at step 730 with the selection of anothersimplex S from Z.

SRAM bitcell design offers a potential application for tradeoffexploration methods like those described herein, though one skilled inthe art will appreciate that the techniques described herein areapplicable to a variety of multi-objective optimization problems. Theelectrical goodness of a bitcell can be measured in terms of fourmetrics:

1. Read Current,

I_(read): This is the DC current through the access transistor when itsinternal node is at 0, the bitline is high and the wordline is active.I_(read) is a measure of the peripheral-independent read access speed ofthe cell: as the current sourced by the access transistor is higher, thebitline fall during the read will be faster. Typically, one would wantthis current to be as large as possible, or at least above a thresholdthat may be required by the array designers.

2. Leakage Current,

I_(leak): This is the DC current that sinks to ground from an unaccessedcell (i.e., when the wordline is inactive and bitlines are high). Itcombines all the leakage components from the inverters and the accessdevices that is wasted during standby. Typically, one would want thiscurrent to be as small as possible, or at least below some acceptablethreshold, which may be specified by the array designers.

3. Access Disturb Margin ADM:

The ADM is a yield metric that measures the robustness of the cell todisturbance during access, in the presence of device mismatch resultingfrom manufacturing variations. This mismatch is largely from randomdopant fluctuation, and can be modeled by Gaussian distributions on thedevice threshold voltages V_(t)).

To measure the ADM, the cell can be placed in a peripheral circuit thatrepresents a relevant application space for the cell. An access(wordline pulse and bitline precharge pulse) is simulated at theexpected operating frequency and the device V_(t)s are skewed until thecell flips, to estimate the worst-case failing distance in V_(t) space.

To compute the ADM, the V_(t) Gaussians are integrated over the failureregion, estimated by assuming a failing boundary that is linear andnormal to this worst-case V_(t) vector. This integral is an estimate ofthe cell stability failure probability P_(f), from which the ADM iscomputed as the equivalent number of standard deviations (σs) on astandard normal:ADM=Φ ⁻¹(1−P _(f))  (31)One typically wants the ADM to satisfy a minimum specified thresholdthat is set by the array size N, the desired array yield Y_(arr) and thenumber of redundant bits r in the array:

$\begin{matrix}{Y_{arr} \approx {\sum\limits_{k = 0}^{r}\frac{\left( {P_{f}N} \right)^{k}{\mathbb{e}}^{{- P_{f}}N}}{k!}}} & (32)\end{matrix}$

4. Write Access Margin WRM:

The WRM is similar to the ADM, except that the operation is a writeoperation and failure occurs when the cell V_(t)s are skewed enough suchthat a write is not successful given the operating supply voltage andfrequency.

One may wish to sample the tradeoff curve between I_(read) and I_(leak)under the following constraints on the yield:ADM>5σ,WRM>5σ  (33)This will ensure that any solution on the Pareto front will satisfy theyield requirement. The design variables here are the nominal V_(t)s ofthe three device types in the cell: the access nFET (PG), the pull-uppFET (PU) and the pull-down nFET (PD).

This represents a common design scenario for a bitcell where the layoutparameter may be fixed early in the technology development because ofarea and time-to-market constraints. Later in the product developmentcycle, if the performance and/or leakage requirements from the cellchange then it is very expensive to change device dimensions becausethat will require a redesign of the cell layout and, worse, reorderingof several expensive masks. Tuning the V_(t)s is, however, much cheapersince no changes to layout and masks are needed, minimizing anyexpensive design and technology cascade effects.

Knowledge of the yield-constrained tradeoff curve between power(I_(leak)) and performance (I_(read)) is then very useful since it givescomplete information regarding the application range of the bitcelllayout. To keep the V_(t)s within some practical range, one couldfurther impose:V _(t,xx) εV _(t,xx) ⁰+[−200 mV,+200 mV] for xx=PG,PD,PU  (34)where V_(t,xx) ⁰ is some nominal starting value for each V_(t). Theweighted optimization problem then is

$\begin{matrix}{{{\min\limits_{V_{t,{PG}},V_{t,{PD}},V_{t,{PU}}}{\alpha\; I_{read}}} + {\left( {1 - \alpha} \right)I_{leak}}},{{s.t.\mspace{14mu}(33)}\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}(34)\mspace{14mu}{are}\mspace{14mu}{{met}.}}} & (35)\end{matrix}$

In order to test the techniques described herein, the inventorssimulated a 6-T SRAM cell in an industrial 22 nm technology using aderivative free circuit optimizer based on the DFO method described inA. Conn et al, “A Derivative-Free Optimization Algorithm in Practice,”Symp. Multidisc. Anal. Optim., 1998, incorporated by reference herein.DFO is a trust-region based method that employs quadratic models for thetrust region and intelligent region and model maintenance techniques toachieve robust convergence. Each optimization run used 42 circuitsimulations on average.

FIG. 10A shows results generated from a uniform sweep of a FIG. 10Bshows results generated using a DP technique according to the presentinvention. Both FIGS. 10A and 10B include 11 data points. Because of thenonuniform distribution of the slope along ∂F, the uniform method tendsto cluster the points in the low leakage regions, while DP can overcomethese artifacts. It should be noted that the Pareto curve appears to beconvex.

The inventors also tested DP on a synthetic problem in three dimensions,employing MATLAB™, commercially available from Mathworks. Inc., toperform each optimization in this case:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\min\limits_{x \in R^{3}}{\alpha_{1}f_{1}}} + {\alpha_{2}f_{2}} + {\left( {1 - \alpha_{1} - \alpha_{2}} \right)f_{3}}}{{f_{1} = {{- 10}x_{1}}},{f_{2} = {- x_{2}}},{f_{3} = {{- 4}x_{3}}}}{{x_{1}^{4} + {2x_{2}^{3}} + {5x_{3}^{2}} - 1} \leq 0.}} & (36)\end{matrix}$

FIG. 11A shows results generated from a uniform sweep of α. FIG. 11Bshows results generated using a DP technique according to the presentinvention. Both FIGS. 11A and 11B include 66 data points. Thedifferences are more dramatic here because of more discrepancy in thedistribution of partial derivatives across ∂F A large part of the Paretosurface is left completely unsampled by the uniform sweep, while someother parts are overly sampled. This is because the uniform sweep doesnot compensate for the behavior of the partial derivatives. DP, on theother hand, does a much better job of covering the entire surface.

FIG. 12A shows the distribution of α for the uniform sweep describedwith reference to FIG. 10A. FIG. 12B shows the distribution of α for thetechnique described with reference to FIG. 10A. The distribution of αshown in FIGS. 12A and 12B clearly indicates that a non-uniformdistribution of α is needed to obtain a uniform distribution of pointson ∂F.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Such a system may include distinct software modules (for example, apartitioning module executing on a hardware processor). Furthermore,aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer programproduct embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) havingcomputer readable program code embodied thereon.

Additionally, the techniques as heretofore described can be implementedvia a computer program product that can include computer useable programcode that is stored in a computer readable storage medium in a dataprocessing system, and wherein the computer useable program code wasdownloaded over a network from a remote data processing system. Also, inone or more embodiments of the invention, the computer program productcan include computer useable program code that is stored in a computerreadable storage medium in a server data processing system, and whereinthe computer useable program code are downloaded over a network to aremote data processing system for use in a computer readable storagemedium with the remote system.

A variety of techniques, utilizing dedicated hardware, general purposeprocessors, firmware, software, or a combination of the foregoing may beemployed to implement the present invention or components thereof. Oneor more embodiments of the invention, or elements thereof, can beimplemented in the form of a computer product including a computerusable medium with computer usable program code for performing themethod steps indicated. Furthermore, one or more embodiments of theinvention, or elements thereof, can be implemented in the form of anapparatus including a memory and at least one processor that is coupledto the memory and operative to perform exemplary method steps.

One or more embodiments can make use of software running on a generalpurpose computer or workstation. With reference to FIG. 13, such animplementation employs, for example, a processor 1310, a memory 1320,and an input/output interface formed, for example, by a display 1330 anda keyboard 1340. The term “processor” as used herein is intended toinclude any processing device, such as, for example, one that includes aCPU (central processing unit) and/or other forms of processingcircuitry. Further, the term “processor” may refer to more than oneindividual processor. The term “memory” is intended to include memoryassociated with a processor or CPU, such as, for example, RAM (randomaccess memory), ROM (read only memory), a fixed memory device (forexample, hard drive), a removable memory device (for example, diskette),a flash memory and the like. In addition, the phrase “input/outputinterface” as used herein, is intended to include, for example, one ormore mechanisms for inputting data to the processing unit (for example,keyboard or mouse), and one or more mechanisms for providing resultsassociated with the processing unit (for example, display or printer).The processor 1310, memory 1320, and input/output interface such asdisplay 1330 and keyboard 1340 can be interconnected, for example, viabus 1350 as part of a data processing unit 1360. Suitableinterconnections, for example via bus 1350, can also be provided to anetwork interface 1370, such as a network card, which can be provided tointerface with a computer network, and to a media interface 1380, suchas a diskette or CD-ROM drive, which can be provided to interface withmedia 1390.

Accordingly, computer software including instructions or code forperforming the methodologies of the invention, as described herein, maybe stored in one or more of the associated memory devices (for example,ROM, fixed or removable memory) and, when ready to be utilized, loadedin part or in whole (for example, into RAM) and executed by a CPU. Suchsoftware could include, but is not limited to, firmware, residentsoftware, microcode, and the like.

Furthermore, the invention can take the form of a computer programproduct accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable medium(for example, media 1390) providing program code for use by or inconnection with a computer or any instruction execution system. For thepurposes of this description, a computer usable or computer readablemedium can be any apparatus for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The medium can storeprogram code to execute one or more method steps set forth herein.

A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing programcode can include at least one processor 1310 coupled directly orindirectly to memory elements 1320 through a system bus 1350. The memoryelements can include local memory employed during actual execution ofthe program code, bulk storage, and cache memories which providetemporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce thenumber of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage duringexecution.

Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limited to keyboard 1340,display 1330, pointing device, and the like) can be coupled to thesystem either directly (such as via bus 1350) or through intervening I/Ocontrollers (omitted for clarity).

Network adapters such as network interface 1370 may also be coupled tothe system to enable the data processing system to become coupled toother data processing systems or remote printers or storage devicesthrough intervening private or public networks. Modems, cable modem andEthernet cards are just a few of the currently available types ofnetwork adapters.

As used herein, including the claims, a “server” includes a physicaldata processing system (for example, system 1360 as shown in FIG. 13)running a server program. It will be understood that such a physicalserver may or may not include a display and keyboard.

Embodiments of the invention have been described herein with referenceto flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products. It will be understood that eachblock of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, andcombinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or blockdiagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. Thesecomputer program instructions may be provided to a processor of ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer orother programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a tangiblecomputer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also beloaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatusto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computeror other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implementedprocess such that the instructions which execute on the computer orother programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the methods described hereincan include an additional step of providing a system comprising distinctsoftware modules embodied on a tangible computer readable storagemedium. The method steps can then be carried out using the distinctsoftware modules and/or sub-modules of the system, as described above,executing on a hardware processor. Further, a computer program productcan include a tangible computer-readable storage medium with codeadapted to be executed to carry out one or more method steps describedherein, including the provision of the system with the distinct softwaremodules.

In any case, it should be understood that the components illustratedherein may be implemented in various forms of hardware, software, orcombinations thereof; for example, application specific integratedcircuit(s) (ASICs), functional circuitry, one or more appropriatelyprogrammed general purpose digital computers with associated memory, andthe like. Given the teachings of the invention provided herein, one ofordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate otherimplementations of the components of the invention.

It will be appreciated and should be understood that the exemplaryembodiments of the invention described above can be implemented in anumber of different fashions. Given the teachings of the inventionprovided herein, one of ordinary skill in the related art will be ableto contemplate other implementations of the invention. Indeed, althoughillustrative embodiments of the present invention have been describedherein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to those preciseembodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may bemade by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope orspirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of optimizing a plurality of objectives,the method comprising the steps of: initializing a set of simplices,wherein the step of initializing includes initializing (k−1)-simplicesin a k-D space; selecting a simplex from the set of simplices; computingone or more weights based at least in part on the selected simplex; andgenerating a point on a tradeoff surface by utilizing the one or moreweights in a weighted-sum optimization; wherein the initializing,selecting, computing and generating steps are performed via a processordevice.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:replacing the selected simplex within the set of simplices with one ormore new simplices determined based at least in part on the generatedpoint; and repeating the selecting, computing, and generating steps. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more new simplices aredetermined by replacing one or more vertices of the selected simplexwith one or more vertices based on the generated point.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the initializing step comprises determining an initialsimplex based at least in part on individual minima for at least aportion of the plurality of objectives.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the simplex is selected based at least in part on volumes ofrespective simplices comprising at least a portion of the set ofsimplices.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the simplex is selectedbased at least in part on probabilities assigned to the respectivesimplices, the probability assigned to a given simplex beingproportional to the volume of the given simplex.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the computing step comprises computing the one or moreweights based at least in part on a centroid of partial derivatives ofat least a portion of vertices of the selected simplex.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the computing step comprises computing the one or moreweights based at least in part on one or more gradients of a planepassing through at least a portion of vertices of the selected simplex.9. A method for designing an integrated circuit, comprising the step of:optimizing a plurality of design objectives at least in part byperforming the steps of: initializing a set of simplices; selecting asimplex from the set of simplices; computing one or more weights basedat least in part on the selected simplex; and generating a point on atradeoff surface by utilizing the one or more weights in a weighted-sumoptimization; wherein the initializing, selecting, computing andgenerating steps are performed via a processor device; and designing theintegrated circuit based at least in part on the optimized plurality ofdesign objectives.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the optimizingstep further comprises the steps of: replacing the selected simplexwithin the set of simplices with one or more new simplices determinedbased at least in part on the generated point; and repeating theselecting, computing, and generating steps.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the one or more new simplices are determined by replacing one ormore vertices of the selected simplex with one or more vertices based onthe generated point.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the initializingstep comprises determining an initial simplex based at least in part onindividual minima for at least a portion of the plurality of objectives.13. The method of claim 9, wherein the simplex is selected based atleast in part on volumes of respective simplices comprising at least aportion of the set of simplices.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein thesimplex is selected based at least in part on probabilities assigned tothe respective simplices, the probability assigned to a given simplexbeing proportional to the volume of the given simplex.
 15. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the computing step comprises computing the one or moreweights based at least in part on a centroid of partial derivatives ofat least a portion of vertices of the selected simplex.
 16. The methodof claim 9, wherein the computing step comprises computing the one ormore weights based at least in part on one or more gradients of a planepassing through at least a portion of vertices of the selected simplex.17. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of design objectivescomprises one or more of read current, leakage current, access disturbmargin, and write access margin.